A 4 a.m. crash on Pacific Coast Highway in Seal Beach left debris scattered across the roadway, the front end of an SUV severely mangled and two people with traumatic injuries, according to authorities.

The crash happened Sunday morning when the SUV slammed into a tree in the median near Pacific Coast Highway and Seal Beach Boulevard, according to the Orange County Fire Authority. Paramedics rushed to the scene and had to free one person from the wreckage. The second person inside the SUV was able to get out themselves, the OCFA said.

Both were taken to a hospital, one in critical condition, according to the OCFA.

The cause of the crash and how fast the SUV was traveling were not immediately known.

Debris from an SUV and the tree it hit in the roadway near Seal Beach Boulevard and Pacific Coast Highway. Photo courtesy the OCFA.
The OCFA said one person had to be freed from the wreckage. Photo courtesy the OCFA.